With little hesitation, struggling news outlets accept aid
Is it a conflict of interest for news outlets to accept federal money under the Paycheck Protection Program? Will taking government funds cause them to go soft in their coverage of those in power?
The front page of a recent issue of Seven Days, a free weekly in Burlington, Vt., suggests the answer is no.
On April 3, the paper applied for a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, which is meant to help small businesses through the coronavirus pandemic. Five days later, its front page showed a caricature of President Donald Trump tossing toilet paper rolls labeled “CA$H” to people in need. The paper received about a $450,000 loan.
“We were joking about that,” said Paula Routly, the publisher and co-editor, referring to the dissonance between the paper’s loan application and its depiction of the man whose signature made the program possible.
Seven Days was hit hard by the virus. The shuttering of shops and restaurants cut deeply into the publication’s advertising revenue. To keep it afloat, Ms. Routly laid off seven employees from the roughly 50-person staff.
Now five of those employees have gone back to work.
Ms. Routly said she had no problem taking federal aid. “It’s perfect for newspapers,” she said.
Many other news outlets have taken advantage of the program, including dailies such as Newsday in Melville, N.Y., and The TimesPicayune/The New Orleans Advocate in Louisiana. Other recipients include Harper’s Magazine. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which is run by a nonprofit, applied but has yet to receive funds.
Newspapers owned by chains such as Gannet and McClatchy are not eligible for the loans. The program is intended to help small businesses, in most industries ones with 500 or fewer employees.
Money used on “payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent and utilities payments” for eight weeks does not need to be repaid if the employer meets certain conditions. The rest is due in two years at a fixed rate of 1%, according to the Treasury Department.